Various electronic devices contain a display for presenting different content and one or more keys to input user commands and text. The equipment used for interacting between the device and user is often referred to as a user interface or UI. Present mobile telephones, for example, comprise keypads, displays, speakers, microphones and sometimes even external accessory keyboards and handwriting recognising pens for data input and output.
The new mobile telephones also provide internet connections. These may provide specially adapted content in the form well-suited for mobile telecommunications (e.g. WAP or OMA standards). Some phones enable browsing ordinary HTML based web pages. The browsing is provided via a given browsing application that the user can access via menu selections or a shortcut. Moreover, the mobile phones often provide time management related functions such as notebook, alarm, calendar and meeting reservation functions. These may each be accessed via respective applications and functions as provided by the manufacturers.
Nokia® 9000, 9110, 9210 and 9500 communicators and Nokia® 9300 Smart Phones have a clam-shell form where the interior of the clam-shell has a complete, miniature size qwerty-keyboard and a fair display above the keyboard. Between the numeric keys and the hinge, there are application or service specific dedicated short-cut keys using which the user may quickly access desired applications or services. However, these keys take space and do not double for any other purpose.
The vast amount of personally interesting and useful information stretches the limits of present user interfaces. Hence, there is a need to improve the user access to useful information.